Abstract
AGB variables, particularly the large amplitude Mira type, are a vital step on the distance scale ladder. They will prove particularly important in the era of space telescopes and extremely large ground-based telescopes with adaptive optics, which will be optimized for infrared observing. Our current understanding of the distances to these stars is reviewed with particular emphasis on improvements that came from Hipparcos as well as on recent work on Local Group galaxies. In addition to providing the essential calibration for extragalactic distances Gaia may also provide unprecedented insight into the poorly understood mass-loss process itself.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Feast, M.W., Whitelock, P.A., Marang, F.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 346, 878 (2003). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2003.07136.x
Feast, M.W., Glass, I.S., Whitelock, P.A., Catchpole, R.M.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 241, 375 (1989)
García-Hernández, D.A., Manchado, A., Lambert, D.L., Plez, B., García-Lario, P., D’Antona, F., Lugaro, M., Karakas, A.I., van Raai, M.A.: Astrophys. J. Lett. 705, 31 (2009). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/705/1/L31
Ita, Y., Matsunaga, N.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 412, 2345 (2011). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18056.x
Ita, Y., Tanabé, T., Matsunaga, N., Nakajima, Y., Nagashima, C., Nagayama, T., Kato, D., Kurita, M., Nagata, T., Sato, S., Tamura, M., Nakaya, H., Nakada, Y.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 347, 720 (2004). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07257.x
Kurayama, T., Sasao, T., Kobayashi, H.: Astrophys. J. Lett. 627, 49 (2005). doi:10.1086/432051
Leão, I.C., de Laverny, P., Mékarnia, D., de Medeiros, J.R., Vandame, B.: Astron. Astrophys. 455, 187 (2006). doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20054577
Matsunaga, N., Kawadu, T., Nishiyama, S., Nagayama, T., Hatano, H., Tamura, M., Glass, I.S., Nagata, T.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 399, 1709 (2009). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15393.x
Mennesson, B., Perrin, G., Chagnon, G., du Coudé Foresto, V., Ridgway, S., Merand, A., Salome, P., Borde, P., Cotton, W., Morel, S., Kervella, P., Traub, W., Lacasse, M.: Astrophys. J. 579, 446 (2002). doi:10.1086/342671
Menzies, J.W., Whitelock, P.A., Feast, M.W., Matsunaga, N.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 406, 86 (2010). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16670.x
Menzies, J.W., Feast, M.W., Whitelock, P.A., Matsunaga, N.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 414, 3492 (2011). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18649.x
Menzies, J., Feast, M., Whitelock, P., Olivier, E., Matsunaga, N., da Costa, G.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 385, 1045 (2008). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12907.x
Nsengiyumva, F.: AGB Variables in NGC6822. Master’s thesis, University of Cape Town (2010)
Nyu, D., Nakagawa, A., Matsui, M., Imai, H., Sofue, Y., Omodaka, T., Kurayama, T., Kamohara, R., Hirota, T., Honma, M., Shibata, K.M., Kobayashi, H., Iwadate, K., Miyaji, T.: Publ. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 63, 63 (2011)
Rejkuba, M.: Astron. Astrophys. 413, 903 (2004). doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20034031
Riebel, D., Meixner, M., Fraser, O., Srinivasan, S., Cook, K., Vijh, U.: Astrophys. J. 723, 1195 (2010). 1007.5029. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/723/2/1195
Samus, N.N., Durlevich, O.V., et al.: VizieR Online Data Cat. 10, 2025 (2009)
Smith, V.V., Plez, B., Lambert, D.L., Lubowich, D.A.: Astrophys. J. 441, 735 (1995). doi:10.1086/175395
Thompson, R.R., Creech-Eakman, M.J., van Belle, G.T.: Astrophys. J. 577, 447 (2002). doi:10.1086/342147
Whitelock, P., Feast, M.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 319, 759 (2000). doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03742.x
Whitelock, P.A., Feast, M.W., van Leeuwen, F.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 386, 313 (2008). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13032.x
Whitelock, P.A., Feast, M.W., Marang, F., Overbeek, M.D.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 288, 512 (1997)
Whitelock, P.A., Feast, M.W., van Loon, J.T., Zijlstra, A.A.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 342, 86 (2003). doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06514.x
Whitelock, P.A., Feast, M.W., Marang, F., Groenewegen, M.A.T.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 369, 751 (2006). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10322.x
Whitelock, P.A., Menzies, J.W., Feast, M.W., Matsunaga, N., Tanabé, T., Ita, Y.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 394, 795 (2009a). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14365.x
Whitelock, P.A., Menzies, J.W., Feast, M.W., Matsunaga, N., Tanabé, T., Ita, Y.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 394, 795 (2009b). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14365.x
Wood, P.R.: Proc. - Astron. Soc. Aust. 17, 18 (2000)
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to John Menzies and Michael Feast for a critical reading of the manuscript and for discussions of various aspects of this paper. I also thank the National Research Foundation (NRF) for a research grant which supported this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Whitelock, P.A. Asymptotic Giant Branch variables in the Galaxy and the Local Group. Astrophys Space Sci 341, 123–129 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-012-0993-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-012-0993-x